MESSINIA: Olive grower planted over 3,000 cannabis trees

A 43-year-old foreigner took advantage of his professional activity as the head of a multi-member criminal group that undertook the cultivation of olive groves in large areas to set up, together with two of his fellow nationals, the giant cannabis plantation that was discovered 11 months ago in Messinia.

On August 5, 2022, Kalamata Narcotics Enforcement officers located 11 specially designed areas that were fenced off with tree branches and wire and connected to each other by small paths, where a total of 3,127 cannabis plants up to 2.70 metres in height were being cultivated.

The illegal profits that the growers would obtain if they managed to channel their production into the trafficking circuits is estimated to reach 5,000,000 euros, Proto Thema reported.

In the area of ​​the plantation, irrigation and cultivation equipment were found at the time, as well as improvised tents in which the cultivators lived to monitor the wider area.

After many months of investigations and utilisation of the findings by the experts of the Criminal Investigation Offices of Kalamata and Kyparissia, it was established that the 43-year-old was the brain of a criminal group.

He had supplied his two compatriots aged 37 and 42 with equipment, means of transport and mobile phones, while he had also set up the accommodation where they lived. In fact, the 37-year-old had undertaken the recording of the daily tasks for the cultivation of the plants.

A case file was filed against the three perpetrators for criminal organisation, cultivation and drug trafficking, which was forwarded to the Kyparissia District Attorney. However, they all remained free due to the expiration of the self-imposed time limits.

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